The Crystal Pheonix
by Jimbob852
Summary: This is one of my own stories and it's about a man who found a crystal when he was a teenager, and has been protecting the earth, the people on it, and also the Crystal itself. But is there more to it than just protecting, but does he need to find the res


I have always wanted to write a book and I have finally started to write one. Here is what I have done so far, so tell me what you think! Very short but hopefully so far so good.

The Crystal Caves

A beam of light shot into Chris Felner's eyes, blinding him for a split second. He heard the sound of a car race past him, drunken teenagers shouting and joyfully cheering, as they disappeared around the corner. _It'll be a miracle if they don't end up in the lake, _Chris thought.

Chris jerked his head back in the direction he was heading, suddenly scared and worried again. Drunken teenagers were the least of his worries at this present moment in time. His daughter was far more important. Chris had been walking as fast as he could, hoping she was alright. He had to find her … soon. He had to find her before sunrise, or she would die.

Chris' daughter, Elise, had been kidnapped over six hours ago. When Chris arrived home after his shift at the power plant, a few miles out of Appleton village, he found a note stuck in his front door with a dagger.

Your daughter will die, if you don't bring us what we want. You know what I am talking about, so bring it to us. Meet us up the nearest hill, in the small woods, just you no one else. Bring us what we desire before sunrise… or else.

As Chris mounted the foot of Windmill Hill, he started to get angry, resenting everything these monsters had put him through. Monsters they are, and not just monstrous people, but actual, slimy, grotesque monsters. They have been fighting Chris for as long as he had found _it. _The one thing that they wanted more than anything, he had, and he would not give the Crystal up to them for anything.

The Crystal had been in his possession ever since his high school trip to the caves fives miles west, just before Appleton Town. Instead of staying with the rest of the class, adolescent and naïve Chris decided he could roam the caves on his own. Falling back to the end of the line, Chris slipped away from the group at the fork and went right. He walked on stooping low, as the ceiling of the cave began to descend, until finally he was crawling along the damp and jagged floor of the cave, the ceiling occasionally dipping so he could only barely squeeze through. After ten more minutes of crawling along, the small tunnel Chris was in opened out to a large room, completely dark, except for the torch Chris held in his hand. There was nothing in this room, as far as Chris could tell, and there were no signs of any human interference with this room, which Chris supposed was because there was such a small tunnel getting to it. In the few minutes Chris puzzled over this, voices were crying out from the tunnel. The teachers and cave guides had realised Chris was missing and had come to find him. Chris was starting back towards the tunnel when he noticed something shimmering in the light of his torch. At first, Chris thought it was the damp wall reflecting the light, but the reflections were shooting back in all directions, like a crystal. Chris took a closer look and the end of a long thin crystal was poking out of the wall. Chris scraped at the wall, trying to get the crystal out and had managed to get it when the older of the three cave guides voice had echoed through into the room. Not wanting to show the crystal to anyone else, just in case it was taken from him, Chris stuffed it into his pocket and squeezed his way back into the tunnel, calling to the cave guides that he was coming back.

As Chris made his way up Windmill Hill, he remembered that day and the events that followed and was even more determined to not give them the Crystal, but to get his daughter and destroy the beasts that held her hostage. Panting slightly, Chris increased his speed, anxiety tearing his insides apart, still worried about what outcome of tonight's event will have.

Chris was not scared of the beasts, for he had the Crystal, which gives him power and magic, which are no match for them. His worry was that if the beasts figured that out then they will kill Elise for sure, no matter if they got the Crystal or not maybe even before he arrived. At this thought Chris began to run up the last bit of the hill, and along the flat grass on top, into the trees.

A faint glow began to wash over the landscape, informing the world of the sun's arrival. Elise's time was almost up. Chris entered the small wood, pushing his way past the branches of the trees and bushes around him, eyes wide open, and alert for even the slightest signs of movement. The further Chris walked, the more apprehensive he became, and a strange feeling of being watched shivered through his body. The beasts were near by. He could feel them.

This was his gift given to him from the Crystal, as the Crystal was his guardian and mentor. The night after he had retrieved the Crystal from the caves, Chris had placed in on his bedside cabinet and turned away to get into bed. Before he could even pull the covers over himself, the Crystal emitted a great blast of light that filled the room, and raised itself up off the cabinet and hovered over Chris's bed. Chris could not move because of shock and just lay there, open-mouthed staring at the Crystal, too scared to even blink. The light dimmed a little and lowered to Chris's eye level. For some strange reason, Chris's fear was eased and he felt save to be in the Crystals presence, as a wave of warmth flowed through him. Chris had reached out to the Crystal and held it in his hands, still not saying a word. The moment the Crystal had touched his fingers, a whisper echoed into his mind; _you are the keeper of the last Crystal of the Sun … never give it up … use it's powers … protect the earth … save your people … from the beasts … and Him._

Chris stopped suddenly, aware of breathing very close to him, but where he did not know.

"So, found your way have you," A voice echoed around Chris. Chris had never heard this voice before in his life, but knew whom it belonged to. At this point Chris was terrified beyond anything, as this was the first time He had spoken to him, and indeed the first time he has come face to face with Him.

"Where is the Crystal? I do hope you brought it with you," the voice continued.

"Where's my daughter?" Chris called back, still looking around trying desperately to find Elise and the Demon.

"She's safe, for now. Hand over the Crystal and you will see her." The voice was gradually getting clearer and seemed to be coming from Chris's left. The woods were becoming clearer as the sun rose up from behind the distant mountain. The Crystal's energy pulsed in his hands as he held it cupped up close to himself, urging him to use its power. Chris was not going to risk it though, especially as he could not see them yet nor Elise who was nowhere to be seen.

"Elise!" Chris shouted. Where is she?

Elise stood alone near the edge of the woods overlooking the oncoming sunrise, leaning against an old tree, which had branches hanging over her touching the ground, trapping her in. She was not able to push the branches aside to escape, as they were fixed firmly in place, by some force she did not understand.

Elise had been trapped for the last five hours, without any sign of help coming to get her. She was terrified at what has happened to her and what might happen to her still. As the leaves near buy flew past her on the ground, she jumped at the sight of them, intense fear creeping through her again. A shadow appeared in front of her on the branches that were hanging over her. Elise jumped again, before realising it was just a squirrel waking up from its night time hibernation. Elise was starting to get paranoid at everything she saw. Her heart was beating faster with every minute that past by, fearing that her death was soon nearby.

Elise had woken up under the trees branches over three hours ago, to find a man standing in front of her, arms folded, patiently waiting for her to wake up. The man had spoken to her and said that she was to remain here while he went to 'receive a little gift' he had said. This man was tall, just short enough to fit under a doorframe with a long grey coat wrapped around him. He had greyish hair with slight signs of black hair not yet aged also a mix of grey and electric blue eyes that seemed to swirl within themselves. His ears were small and round that were lower than they should be, as if they were slept on funny at an early age. Wrinkles were forming around the edges of his eyes and mouth. Overall this man did not look like a member of the rescuing committee that Elise had been wishing would come after her. He looked strange, mysterious. His eyes were full of longing, even a sinister look about them. They looked evil. _He _looked evil.

"Do not try to escape, the tree will not allow you to move away from it, it follows my orders now. If you father does not bring the little Crystal with him, he find that his daughter will not be breathing, understand what I am saying, little girl?" he said with a small smile, his eyes swirling faster.

"What do you want with me," Elise managed to force these words out, but struggled as her mouth was swollen, for some reason she could not remember. _How did I get a swollen mouth, she thought._

"It's not you I want, dear, it's the Crystal. You sound as if you have a soar throat, or is that because you have swollen mouth? Yes, it's that isn't it. You see, when we came for you, you put up a surprising battle to stay where you were. But you are no match for my minions, little girl." He continued mockingly. Elise hated being called a little girl. The memory of her kidnapping came back to Elise as she stood there in front of her captor. Small, devilish creatures had grabbed her, pulled her down to the ground so they could tie her up. Elise fought back but only to her own peril. One of these beasts had smacked her around the face, knocking her out.

"Stay here until I get back, and save your breathe. No one can hear you from in here," the man stated. He turned around, waved a hand at the branches, which parted to allow him through, but snapped shut before Elise could get close enough to escape. As Elise touched the branches to try and push them, she was propelled backwards towards the tree's trunk, with so much force she thought she smack against the trunk. She landed just at the foot of the tree, gasping for breath. _What just happened? _

Elise has not, until now, known anything about magic or demons, and was scared about what was happening. Her father had never said anything to her about anything to do with magic, and just dismissed her when she kept asking about the Crystal that he kept in his pocket. Before now Elise thought that her dad was maybe a bit crazy, and needed to grow up and get a life. Now, however, she was mortally afraid of what magic had her trapped in the trees branches. Maybe her dad was able to use magic, he was always doing something in his room, something like chanting and whispering to someone, although there was never anyone in the room with him. For as long as she could remember her dad had always had that Crystal and always went off in the middle of the night and came back in pain.

One time this happened, Elise's dad came back, after another "night-time stroll" as he used to say, in such pain that he could not even walk, but half crawled his way back into his bedroom and fell silent. Elise was too scared to go forward and help him get back into bed from her own room, but just peered round, hoping he was going to be alright soon. The most bizarre thing about these "night-time strolls" was that the next day, Elise's dad, got up as nothing happened, as if he had not even gone out, but stayed home and a very refreshing sleep. Elise was too afraid to ask her dad about this and soon came to the conclusion that her dad got drunk every night and collapsed in bed, and was sober by the next morning. But the thought of her dad coming home in so much pained frightened her more than anything.

Elise got back up from the ground her breathing steadying and her heartbeat slowing. The best thing that she could do now was sit down and wait. Hoping that her father would be able to help her some how. Elise was starting to believe in magic now and hoped upon hope that her dad was able to do magic as well and help her get out, and take her home. Elise tucked her head between her legs waiting, listening carefully for any sound.

After ten more minutes had past, Elise heard her own name being called out from the other side of the woods. _Dad! _

The longer Chris stood there, the more his anxiety tore at his stomach and heart. He was so desperate to hear something that would tell him where his daughter was, but all he could hear was the sniggering of the beasts, invisible around him. It wasn't in the beast's power to become invisible, which means that the Demon was doing it. The Demon was close now; his voice even more clear and close.

"Hand it over to me… now." As He demanded for the Crystal to be given to him, a black shape appeared just beyond a nearby holly bush. A huge silhouette forming into a tall figure, gliding slowly towards him.

Chris clasped the Crystal even tighter in his hands, positive his hands were now bleeding under the pressure. The magic of the Crystal flooded through him, guided only by his instincts. With a force the size of a bulldozer, a bolt of yellow coloured energy escaped out of Chris's chest heading directly at the black shadow. Before the bolt had even gotten any closer however, the figure had disappeared. As a result the holly bush was blasted to smithereens, fire shooting in all directions.

Then all of a sudden, beasts were emerging from behind the trees, out of thin air, dashing towards Chris in a fierce attack. The nearest one made a swipe at Chris, it's crooked teeth gritted in it's immensely mouldy green mouth, roaring with rage. Chris ducked, only barely missing getting smacked, and sent another bolt of energy towards it, causing the beast to blow up in a thousand small pieces flying in all directions.

A pack of beasts, that had emerged, advanced forwards ready to tear Chris apart. Remaining slightly calm, Chris raised his hands up towards the tops of the trees, concentrating hard on a clump of leaves. In an instant the leaves had detached themselves from the branch and shot towards the beasts. Just before the leaves hit the beasts, they no longer were green leaves, but gigantic silver daggers, which penetrated the beast's chests, causing them to fall in cry's of pain.

Before Chris had time to think, two beasts had jumped out behind him, one of them tackling him to the ground. Chris his the hard mud. Winded, he rolled over so the beast was on top of him and sent the creature blasting into the air. The other one still running towards Chris was not quick enough. Chris grabbed a handful of mud, threw it at the beast which burst into flames the second the mud touched it. The beast was turned into a pile of ash before it had taken another step.

Chris took a quick look around and saw the beast he had sent into the air. With a last bolt of energy the beast was gone. Beasts were retreating back behind trees, and disappearing into thin air again. The Demon was laughing loudly, now sounding extremely close.

"Very good! Very good indeed! Far better than I had expected. But are you sure you want to challenge me, especially as you have no idea where your daughter is?" The Demon continued to snigger.

"Do you wanna bet?" Chris replied, getting angrier by the second. It was true. His daughter was somewhere, and he could find her but only if she was thinking about him at the same time. Chris reached inside his pocket for the Crystal and placed it against his forehead and removed his hands, the Crystal still attached to his forehead. Raising both hands up he disappeared in a swirl of hot air and began to rise up.

Chris was floating above the woods, trying to sense Elise. Chris had the ability to sense someone if they were thinking of him at the same time, which in Elise's case would be no problem, if she was still…

As Chris concentrated, he didn't sense his daughter, but the Demon. Chris could sense that the Demon was confused, and knew instantly were Elise was. An image of a great oak had appeared in his mind, with it's branches covering it's trunk.

In a second Chris had floated back down and reappeared in the same place ha had disappeared. He caught the Crystal as it fell from his forehead. The second he had reappeared, however, yet more beasts had started to attack him. The demon was obviously worried. Holding his hands a foot apart from each other, circling them as if he was holding a football, Chris smacked his hands together and a purple force field blast from then causing the beasts to be thrown twenty feet away in all directions.

Without wasting a second, Chris headed in the direction of the only oak tree in the wood, knowing the Demon would be there any second. Chris used his magic to move objects out of his way so no time was lost, and emerged into a clearing with an oak tree in the middle. Its branches were bent down touching the ground, exactly the way it had been in his vision.

The Demon was already there, but had only just started to part the branches. Chris again sent a bolt of energy at the demon, and this time the Demon was not fast enough to get out of the way. Instead of blowing up into a thousand pieces though, the Demon was only sent crashing into a tree. Before the demon got up, Chris had ran into the oaks open branches and picked his daughter up, who was crying next to the trunk, and ran back out before the Demon could close them up again.

Chris stood still watching the Demon, as he returned looking ever more menacing.

"Fine, you may have got your daughter back this time, but I won't stop until I have the Crystal in my hands. See you around, and, keep a close eye on your pretty little girl, because I would love to kill her," he said with an evil grin. Chris sent another blast of energy at the demon but he had gone before it had got to him.

Chris sat down and hugged his daughter before he could stop himself, Elise hugging him back, sobbing.

"What's going on, dad, I'm so scared." Tears were trickling down her face now, in waves.

"Let's just get home and get some sleep. I'll explain everything to you tomorrow. Come on," Chris held Elise's hand and they headed home, Chris constantly keeping his eyes skinned for any sign of movement, glad to have his daughter back and the Crystal still save.


End file.
